Virtual Grand National to be shown on ITV
The Virtual Grand National which features the Grand National Race of Champions is to go ahead despite the decision to cancel this year’s Randox Health Grand National at Aintree and will be shownon ITV at 5pm on Saturday 4th April.
The TV special will feature the 40 horses and riders who were most likely to run in the Aintree spectacular. It will answer the key question in racing could the Tiger have won the 2020 race and entered the history books as a three times back-to-back winner?
“We use the latest CGI technology and algorithms and were ready to go ahead as a forerunner to the big race but now we want to cheer the nation up and ask the computer if history could have been made” said Rob McLoughlin, the Executive Producer; “Its very sad not to have the real race but this is fascinating and fun and as proven since 2017 incredibly accurate”.
The special will also pit Red Rum and Tiger Roll against each other in the Race of Champions alongside 38 other champions who will race over the real Aintree jumps and famous course.
“It is the dream race, the one everyone will want to see, the legend and the competitor head-to-head and it can only happen as part of this ITV special” said Champion jockey and Aintree legend Richard Pitman, who rode 427 winners in his career and almost won the National on Crisp.
“Both were trained for the flat, both are small and both have found a natural home over the Aintree jumps, so to see them compete with 38 other famous legends over the real course and famous fences will be magnificent,” concluded Pitman.
Richard joins Nick Luck and guests for The Virtual Grand National TV special.
The animation is created by Inspired Entertainment - Inspired has been recreating the action and settings of some of the world’s most famous sporting events for over 15 years. The Company’s award-winning virtual sports are popular worldwide, appealing to a wide variety of players through more than 40,000 retail channels and 100+ websites in 35 countries.
“In 2017, Cause of Causes won the Virtual Grand National and came a close second in the real race hours later,” said Steve Rogers, Chief Commercial Officer for Virtual Sports at Inspired; ‘The 2018 result was breathtaking as Tiger Roll won both in almost identical circumstances and the computer chose three of the top five finishers, including the Tiger, in 2019.”
“My team have been working round the clock to make this year even more realistic than ever, and we can’t wait to screen the Red Rum versus Tiger Roll match. It’s terrific TV.”
The TV concept was created by Broadcaster Rob McLoughlin of Carm Productions, a former Director of Granada Television who grew up in Maghull (the town alongside Aintree) where the first National was run in the 19th century. Rob describes the programme as “almost every punter’s dream come true.”
“It is brave to preview the most unpredictable race of all, but also great fun. In 2018 it was astonishing to be able to tell the country who would win—and to do it in almost identical circumstances!”
“In these difficult times we want the public to simply enjoy the race that sadly never was and think about what might have been”.
“In 2019 Tiger Roll was placed second and the winner Rathvinden came third so the computer has been remarkably accurate I think the use of virtual technology and AI (Artificial Intelligence) ahead of great sporting events will become the ‘norm’ in the future,” he concluded.
Chris Cowey returns as Director along with Producer Mark Alderton and Peter Eaton as Advisor, (his family won the race with Amberleigh House).